Hi all,

In the "Tribe Moderators" tribe, and presumably a few others, is news that Tribe is back under Marks' ownership. Assuming that this is true, and it certainly seems to be true, the question then becomes: So what? Below is a rant regarding my concerns and feelings about the current situation "around here" -- hopefully you will find it useful to read. It's also posted (as of now, anyway) in the Tribe Moderator's tribe.

Best,

Jay

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Hmmmm, I will regard this as, if not good news, then at least as not necessarily bad news.

For me, the main question, and indeed pretty much the ONLY question, is what about those utterly dreadful, self-contradictory, outright irrrational, and capriciously enforced TOUs?

Also, will BDSM people still be considered human slime by senior Tribe management?

Starting with the great TOU debacle a while ago, senior Tribe management made it much more than very clear that they didn't want "our kind" around here. Since then, I have not been able to feel that either reading or posting to Tribe is a morally clean act for anyone engaged in any sort of alternative sexuality -- be it BDSM, poly, or what have you. I have occasionally gritted my teeth and done so anyway, and when I have posted I have also frequently encouraged people to take their eyeballs and their content over to www.free-association.net, where there is _NO_ doubt that we "alternative types" are genuinely welcome.

Before they changed their TOU in the dreadful way they did, I used to spend over an hour composing long, thoughtful essays for posting here. Since that change, there is not a fucking chance in hell that I would contribute to this place in that way. Since then, I have always felt slightly hypocritial for reading or posting on this site at all. I just can't see it as a morally clean act. Sometimes I do so anyway, and take a shower afterwards.

So I guess we'll have to see. If Mark (or whomever) makes it _unmistakenly_clear_ that "alternative types" like me are _genuinely_welcomed_ here -- not merely "tolerated" or "permitted" mind you, but genuinely welcomed, and I will be examing any language they use on this point very, very closely for any signs of ambiguity or evasiveness on that specific point, then I'll see.

It would also help if they were to explicitly, publicly apologize for and disown the past unfair and discriminatory policies.

If they want to move it back to being the magical, very hip place that it was, great. OTOH, if the new management wants it to continue of have all the advertureousness and free-spiritedness of -- to use their own phrase -- an "online Starbucks" then, as the old saying goes, include me out.

Until they do those things, I'll continue to do everything I can to encourage people to go over to www.free-association.net and to stay the hell away from this place. Remember folks, it's all about "eyeballs to advertisers" -- and given how things currently are here on Tribe I just cannot make myself feel morally clean about providing my eyeballs and encouraging others to provide theirs, for free, for Tribe's profitability.

Why, oh why, should I contribute, for free, to the well-being of a for-profit corporation that considers me an undesirable? This is especially true now, when a quite adequate, explicitly welcoming alternative, is very readily available. More to the point, why should you?

Very sincerely,

Jay Wiseman, JD
Please join me over at www.free-association.net